Ramayana — Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 92, Shloka 25
भरद्वाजाश्रमात् चित्रकूटमार्गनिर्देशः
Directions from Bharadvaja’s Hermitage to Chitrakuta
यस्याः कृते नरव्याघ्रौ जीवनाशमितो गतौ। राजपुत्रविहीनश्च स्वर्गं दशरथो गतः।।2.92.24।। क्रोधनामकृतप्रज्ञां दृप्तां सुभगमानिनीम्। ऐश्वर्यकामां कैकेयीमनार्यामार्यारूपिणीम्।।2.92.25।। ममैतां मातरं विद्धि नृशंसां पापनिश्चयाम्। यतोमूलं हि पश्यामि व्यसनं महदात्मनः।।2.92.26।।
krodhanām akṛtaprajñāṃ dṛptāṃ subhagamāninīm |
aiśvaryakāmāṃ kaikeyīm anāryām āryarūpiṇīm || 2.92.25 ||
ਕੈਕੇਈ ਨੂੰ ਇਉਂ ਜਾਣੋ—ਕ੍ਰੋਧ ਦੇ ਵਸ਼ ਵਿੱਚ, ਅਵਿਵੇਕਣੀ, ਅਹੰਕਾਰੀ, ਆਪਣੇ ਆਪ ਨੂੰ ਅਤਿ ਸੁੰਦਰ ਸਮਝਣ ਵਾਲੀ; ਐਸ਼ਵਰਯ ਅਤੇ ਸੱਤਾ ਦੀ ਲਾਲਸਾ ਵਾਲੀ; ਅੰਦਰੋਂ ਅਨਾਰਿਆ ਪਰ ਬਾਹਰੋਂ ਆਰਿਆ-ਰੂਪ ਧਾਰਣ ਵਾਲੀ।
She is my mother Kaikeyi who is irascible, lacks the power of discrimination, proud, boastful of her beauty, ambitious of wealth, ignoble in the guise of a noble woman, wicked and intent on sinful acts. Behold her. You may know that because of her, Rama and Lakshmana the best of men entered the forest which may cause their destruction and king Dasaratha attained heaven. She alone is the root of this great calamity that I am presently confronting.
FAQs
Dharma requires inner discernment (prajñā) and self-restraint; anger, pride, and craving for power corrupt judgment and can masquerade as ‘respectability’ while producing adharma.
Bharata, ashamed and anguished, describes his mother Kaikeyī’s perceived faults to Bharadvāja while explaining the cause of Rāma’s exile.
Moral clarity and frankness: Bharata refuses to excuse wrongdoing even when it implicates his own mother.